My Preconceptions About MSC Food
Before I first cruised with MSC I was a little apprehensive.
I had read a lot of reviews about the food which were less than complimentary.
Once onboard I enjoyed the food. I didn’t experience any of the bad things that I had read about online.
MSC food is certainly more ‘Mediterranean’ than I am used to eating at home – but that’s kind of to be expected from an Italian company cruising around the Med!
Where Did We Eat?
Main Restaurant
For the majority of our evening meals, we ate in the Main Restaurant.
Our assigned main restaurant was called L’Olivo Doro.
The actual Restaurant was nice enough, but it definitely was nothing amazing.
Read my full MSC Meraviglia ship review below to learn more about all of the restaurants and bars onboard.
MSC Meraviglia Photo Guide (Complete Tour)
Buffet
We also ate a number of lunches in the buffet, but never ate in the buffet for dinner.
We often grabbed a few evening snacks from here before bed. I really appreciated the buffet being open later than 9 p.m.
I cruised on Royal Caribbean recently and the fact that the buffet closed at 9 pm every day was really annoying.
Butchers Cut (Speciality Restaurant at an Extra Charge)
Butchers Cut is a speciality restaurant and we ate here twice for free!
We matched our NCL Platinum Latitudes Loyalty Status to MSC’s Voyagers Black Loyalty Status and this gave us a free meal for two in a speciality restaurant.
So, I took my brother to Butchers Cut, and a couple of nights later he took me!
Find out more about how to status match with MSC here:
MSC Status Match – What Is it And is it Worth Doing? A Step-by-Step Guide
MSC has now tightened up on this perk, and even if there are two black loyalty card status members in the cabin, you only get one speciality meal. It’s per cabin, not per cardholder.
There was not much of a view from this restaurant sadly.
It made me miss the waterfront from NCL ships… It was a gorgeous restaurant though and the staff were really nice.
The Food We Ate
Main Dining Room
The food in the main dining room was good.
The portions were not huge but I never found myself hungry. There is always an opportunity to get more food later when you are cruising – so I don’t feel small portions are a big problem.
We had a variety of meat dishes as well as some brilliant vegetarian and vegan options.
The food wasn’t the type I would usually eat at home, but I really liked that.
I do like to try new foods and a cruise is a perfect opportunity. All the photos below are of the main dishes – as you can see they aren’t the biggest…
The next photo is of our Christmas dinner. We boarded the Meraviglia on Christmas Day and disembarked on New Years Eve.
It wasn’t what I would call a traditional British Roast Turkey Christmas dinner…
I didn’t take many photos of the desserts because for me, they were just fruit. (I have a slight dairy intolerance.) Here’s a photo of my Dad’s dessert though – he said it was very nice.
The Buffet
There is a huge variety of food available in the buffet.
The majority seemed to be made up of pasta, pizza and bread but there was also a grill section and an “Ethnic Corner” which I enjoyed.
They had Hot Dogs and Burgers too.
I don’t eat much dairy but had no problem finding dairy-free options in the buffet.
The only problem I had was I couldn’t find any dairy-free desserts – but I am pretty used to that.
There was plenty of food in the buffet at breakfast time too.
This is what I chose to eat every day. I am a girl of simple tastes! Those little baguettes were incredible though. MSC makes really good bread!
Butchers Cut (Speciality Restaurant at an Extra Charge)
The food in Butchers Cut was really really good.
The portions were absolutely HUGE which made a change from the food in the main dining room.
The starters In Butchers Cut were definitely bigger than some of the main courses that I had had in the main dining room!
I had an amazing giant melted cookie for dessert. The fact that it was free made it taste even better!
The menu is absolutely huge. If you are eating for free as part of the Black Membership Perks, you need to order from the “dining experience” part of the menu – which we did.
Other Snacks Around The Ship
We spent quite a lot of time in the Sky Lounge watching the world go by.
On a number of occasions, they brought us some little snacks – tapas almost!
I’d love to tell you what these are, but I honestly don’t know. Even at the time of eating, I had no idea what they were…
Check out my full MSC Meraviglia ship tour below:
General Thoughts
I was never hungry onboard the MSC Meraviglia.
The food portions were smaller than I would have at home, and I certainly ate more vegetables than I would normally – but that definitely isn’t a bad thing!
If you are considering a cruise onboard the Meraviglia but are worried having read negative reviews online, I would strongly urge you to ignore those Negative Nellies and try MSC.
To check out more MSC Meraviglia menus click here.
Before You Go
I later took a very cheap Caribbean cruise on MSC Seaview. Find out exactly what I ate on that cruise, and what I thought of it here:
Everything I Ate on my MSC Cruise (Photos and Menus) – Food Review
I took some first-time cruiser friends on a budget-friendly MSC cruise from Southampton. Find out how we got on, and whether they were impressed in the post below:
MSC Cruise Review – in Europe (Food, Service, Entertainment and More)
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Gigi
Thursday 31st of March 2022
The food on our cruise was perfectly fine and some even great! Chocolate au pan delivered with my coffee in the morning was pretty spectacular!!! The MDR menu other than one night did not appeal to me so I ate at the buffet. And honestly I was never disappointed. Dollar for dollar MSC is a million times better than Carnival. I was treated like royalty on the Meraviglia and the crew were incredible!!!
Mandy
Sunday 6th of January 2019
Hi I’m going with my family on this ship in April I’m confused what to do regarding drinks as we haven’t purchased a drinks package my father literally only drinks tea but my kids would want juice etc would you recommend a drinks package or just PAYG?
Kind regards
Patricia Krogh
Wednesday 8th of February 2023
@Mandy, there is usually juice available on deck 15 for breakfast (usually 4 kinds) and maybe 1 or 2 during the day, as well as lemonade. I never get the drink package because of this and if I do want to get something else, it is a treat and not an everyday occurence.
Emma Le Teace
Sunday 19th of May 2019
Hey Mandy! Definitely just pay as you go. The drinks aren't too expensive and this is what I tend to do. They do have packages but they're all much more expensive than what I would spend in a day. It sounds as though you're in a similar situation.
Have a fabulous cruise, thank you for commenting.
huy
Tuesday 6th of February 2018
Are the pastries/ chocolates free on the MSC Meraviglia? Ive sailed with Princess Crown and i love that they have pastries/desserts available free all day.
Patricia Krogh
Wednesday 8th of February 2023
@huy, if the pastries are served in the buffet or in the mail dining, they are free. There is a chocolate shop and a crepe/gelato shop where the items are not free. HOWEVER, they make the best cookies that are served usually around 4:00 or on the buffet when on Ocean Cay. I asked and all of their pastries, breads and cookies are homemade on ship and nothing is frozen. I really enjoyed the morning scones and other pastries, and definitely loved the variety of cookies (macadamia nut, chocolate chip, peanut butter and oatmeal raisin) and some others but these 4 types were wonderful!
Emma Le Teace
Sunday 18th of February 2018
Ummmmmm, only when the buffet is open :) There isn't a free promenade cafe like their is on Royal Caribbean ships.